Special Issues of CCC

Since 2010 College Composition and Communication has featured one special issue a year: the first, commemorating the journal’s 60th anniversary, addressed the future of rhetoric and composition; the second, in 2011, focused on ethnic and indigenous rhetorics; the third, in 2012, identified and articulated research methodologies central to the field/discipline; the fourth, the September 2013 issue, spoke to issues associated with the profession in two genres, articles and small-scope narratives; and the fifth special issue, to be published in 2014, is focusing on Locations of Writing.

Thanks to the over 200 proposers who submitted. All vignettes and manuscripts have been accepted; the final special issue will be included in two issues, September and December 2014.

CCC Submission Guidelines

NOTE: Kathleen Blake Yancey's term as editor lasts through 2014. Incoming editor Jonathan Alexander's first issue will appear in February 2015. After January 27, 2014, send article submissions to Alexander using the CCC Editorial Manager website (see instructions below).

The editorial staff of College Composition and Communication (CCC) invites submission of research and scholarship in composition studies that supports college teachers in reflecting on and improving their practices in teaching writing. The field of composition studies draws on research and theories from a broad range of humanistic disciplines— English studies, linguistics, literacy studies, rhetoric, cultural studies, LGBT studies, gender studies, critical theory, education, technology studies, race studies, communication, philosophy of language, anthropology, sociology, and others—and within composition studies, a number of subfields have also developed, such as technical communication, computers and composition, writing across the curriculum, research practices, history of composition, assessment, and writing center work.

Articles for CCC may come out of the discussions within and among any of these fields, as long as the argument presented is clearly relevant to the work of college writing teachers and responsive to recent scholarship in composition studies. The usefulness of articles to writing teachers should be apparent in the discussion, but articles need not contain explicit sections detailing applications to teaching practices.

In writing for CCC, you should consider a diverse readership for your article, a readership that includes at least all teachers of college-level writing at diverse institutions and literacy centers, and may include administrators, undergraduate and graduate students, legislators, corporate employers, parents, and alumni. To address such an audience, you need not avoid difficult theories or complex discussions of research and issues or detailed discussions of pedagogy; rather you should consider the interests and perspectives of the variety of readers who are affected by your theories, pedagogies, and policies.

Genre, Format, Length, Documentation. You are encouraged to submit articles in whatever genre and format best fits your purposes, and to use alternate genres and formats if they best express your meanings; similarly, the use of endnotes and subheadings should align with your purposes and meanings. Most articles in CCC run between 4,000 and 7,000 words (or approximately 16–28 double-spaced pages), though articles may be shorter or longer in line with your purposes. All articles should be documented according to the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd ed.). NCTE's Guidelines for Gender-Fair Use of Language can be found here: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/genderfairuseoflang.

Research Practices and Citing Unpublished Work. If your article reports the results of empirical or observational research, you need to be attentive to the ethics as well as the validity of your research methods. In any article, if you quote or otherwise reproduce unpublished writing by students or teachers or others, you need to get permission from the writers to do so, even if you use their writing anonymously. Permission forms for citing unpublished work are available from the CCC editor and on CCC Online.

Submission and Review of Articles. All manuscripts should be submitted electronically. Please register as an author at our Web-based manuscript submission and review system, Editorial Manager (www.editorialmanager.com/cccj). Once logged in to the system, follow the instructions to upload your submission. Be sure to indicate in the comments section the issue date for which you are submitting (e.g., June 2015 issue). Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged by email. Articles will be read blind by outside reviewers, so please make sure that your name does not appear on the title page or first page and that you do not identify yourself in the text or in the list of works cited. Direct questions to incoming editor Jonathan Alexander at ccceditors@gmail.com.

Interchanges. Responses to articles that raise important issues or different perspectives will be considered for publication in the Interchanges section. Please phrase any differences with the article you are responding to in a tone respectful to the writer and to the profession. Responses usually run between 500 and 2,000 words (approximately 2–8 double-spaced pages). Sets of short related articles may also be submitted to or solicited by the editor for the Interchanges section.

Book Reviews.CCC is currently publishing book review essays, each addressing a set of books, and all review essays are invited by the editor. If you have ideas for review essays, please contact the editor.

Click HERE to read/download a copy of the CCC permission form needed to include the work of others in your submission (especially student work).